Herhold: NIMBYs shine in Silicon Valley this year

Ladies and gentlemen, could we stop the whispering in the back row? The moment you've been waiting for has arrived: the opening of the envelopes for this column's 2013 NIMBY awards, honoring achievement above and beyond in defending the backyards of the valley.

It's been a banner year. As the economy surged, the need to defend property values from the winds of change has grown apace. NIMBYs (not in my backyard) have taken aim at kids, dogs, old folks, Muslims and Big Macs. Yes, you can applaud.

Even more notably, a rich line of inventive arguments emerged in the past 12 months. The opponents of a tapas bar in Saratoga claimed it would clash with an ice-cream store next door. The opponents of a dog park in Cupertino predicted that kids would be bitten. The foes of a South County mosque fretted about contamination from a Muslim graveyard.

If you're irony-challenged, you may want to leave the auditorium now. We'll get you a taxi home. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the show. In no particular order, save the lifetime achievement award, here are the signal accomplishments of NIMBYs in 2013.

THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AWARD: More than a year ago, the Santa Clara County supervisors unanimously approved plans for a mosque in San Martin called the Cordoba Center. The building was to have a 5,000-square-foot prayer hall, a 2,800-square-foot multipurpose center and a 2-acre cemetery. County planners said it passed environmental muster.

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Fortunately, a group called the Peoples Coalition for Government Accountability brought a lawsuit, arguing that the county had given inadequate attention to traffic and groundwater contamination. In August, the mosque's supporters withdrew their use permit, leaving open the chance to apply again.

The lead opponents insisted they were not bigoted, and that their objections were environmental. But every now and then, a candid voice emerged: "I'm just suspicious that they're sneaking in to contaminate our county," one woman wrote in a letter to the Morgan Hill Times.

THE ICE-FLOE AWARD: The threat to property values from lower-income folks, particularly the elderly, has always gone underestimated in our valley. So it was welcome when NIMBYs stepped forward to force an election this fall on an affordable senior housing project in Palo Alto.

The project approved by the City Council for the 2.5-acre site at Maybell and Clemo avenues would have included 12 single-family homes and -- gasp -- 60 units for seniors who make between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area's median income.

After a petition campaign, the council agreed to place a measure costing the city $584,900 on the November ballot. The objections are the usual ones about traffic and noise. Everyone knows those poor old folks are unruly neighbors. But if the project goes down, it will confer the bonus of keeping Palo Alto safe for millionaires.

THE ZERO CARBS AWARD: A lot of people count their calories, avoiding fast food. The folks who live near the Orchard Farm Shopping Center in West San Jose did them one better in April: They stopped a planned 3,900-square-foot McDonald's cold.

Ante Bilic, owner of the proposed Meza Bar in downtown Saratoga, talks to local residents about his restaurant.
(George Sakkestad)

Displaying admirable organization, NIMBYs near Bollinger Road and Miller Avenue objected to the drive-thru, saying that it would increase traffic and offer unhealthful meals to kids. They also pulled out the smell card, insisting cooking odors would permeate the neighborhood.

In April, the City Council voted 7-4 against the plan for a drive-thru. A McDonald's spokesman said it was a deal-breaker and the fast-food restaurant would not be built. Take that, Big Mac.

THE MONEY TALKS AWARD: Ordinary NIMBYs can only aspire to be like Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook CEO and recipient of this honor. In a gambit that might be called wealth-by-association, a developer planned to buy a property next door to Zuckerberg's five-bedroom home in Palo Alto's Crescent Park. The idea was to build a huge new house that could be marketed as standing next to Zuckerberg's home.

What to do? Zuckerberg spent more than $30 million buying four residential properties next to and behind his house. He's now leasing them back to the families that live there. The Facebook CEO paid well above market price, but when you're worth $19 billion, it's pocket change.

THE WOOFER AWARD: For all their hard work, NIMBYs don't always triumph. But we honor a valiant fight. For four years, neighbors at several sites in Cupertino fought nobly to keep a dog park from town. Who wants poop on public land?

Their long struggle came to a bitter end in February, when the City Council voted 4-1 to approve a $500,000 off-leash dog park in a small triangular area on Mary Avenue and Villa Real, near Highway 85.

Before the council vote, the neighbors in the nearby condominiums went down fighting on the issue of dog bites. They brought children to the council meeting with posters, one of which displayed a dog-bitten finger. Their suggestion for the site? Trees.

THE LITTLE RASCALS AWARD: The well-regarded Rocketship Education network hoped to open a charter elementary school on a 3.5-acre parcel of land next to the Tamien light-rail station. Their argument: It would fill an educational need and improve the neighborhood.

The Rocketship people jumped over several hurdles, settling on a plan that called for the city to construct a soccer field on the site. Despite neighbors' fears of traffic -- charter parents drive -- the council approved the proposal on a 7-4 vote in January.

The charter school didn't reckon with NIMBYs' staunchest friend: litigation. Neighbor Brett Bymaster and the San Jose Unified School District sued, successfully challenging a zoning exemption granted by the Santa Clara Board of Education. Weeks later, Rocketship announced it would look for another site.

THE JUMP-OUT-OF-YOUR-SHOES AWARD: There's a fair difference between the word "tapas" and "topless," though they seemed to sound alike in Saratoga in June. An angry group of neighbors objected to the opening of a tapas bar in downtown Saratoga, floating the rumor it might be topless.

In fact, the Meza Bar plans to offer finger fare like pickled veggies, crostini, bruschetta, charcuterie and flatbreads. Owner Ante Bilic, who, indeed, did once co-own a strip joint in Sunnyvale, sat down with his critics last month to explain his plans for the restaurant, where he hopes to sell alcohol until midnight on weekends.

But mark down this victory for NIMBYs. The complaints have delayed the bar's opening and kept downtown Saratoga dull.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: This coveted award goes to Santa Clara Plays Fair, the group of activists that has continued to object to the new $1.3 billion 49ers stadium near Great America.

What takes the group's achievement to a new level was an email blast it sent out not long after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco Airport in July. The email said that SCPF members "are asking questions because our stadium is within the flight path of San Jose's airport." It included a summation of FAA flight restrictions.

In case anyone missed the point, the email included a video of the Asiana crash by a bystander and photos of the plane after the crash. The subtext: Buy that seat license and you, too, could be a victim.